My current obsession is waxing cheese. Some of you probably already do this, but I am getting a kick out of it.
Ordered wax from a cheese company so I didn't end up with brittle counterfeit. Amazingly pliable.
I dipped the cheese first in beeswax to improve flavor.
Some sites suggest drying the cheese for a few hours, dipping in vinegar to slow bacteria growth. I wasn't comfortable with leaving it exposed to new germs, so just dipped it. When cold, it will pick up more wax. It should take 3-4 coats.
A double boiler works well, or one designated pot that you can store the wax in. I ended up double-boiling in the same foil tins I wanted to cool them in, since they were small and could hold depth of wax in narrow space. Then just kept leftover wax inside, and stacked them. So easy.
The cheese continues to age and dry, but can be eaten such a long time after, even at room temps. They suggest dangling from ceiling to keep rodents out. I will probably store in a tin, as rodents are creative folk.
The culture/bacteria continues to work, so I tried combining a chunk of better cheeses to barely-aged cheeses... see what happens. I have a good cheese source (they cut from imported waxed rounds, probably the same week I buy it).
There are preps that take months of tending and canning...and then there are easy ones like this!
